Arnold ad agency did not have McDonald's approval

A Boston advertising agency has pulled a McDonald's ad from the MBTA Orange Line after acknowledging that McDonald's had not approved the advertising which some saw as mocking those with mental illness.

The ad, done in the style of a public service campaign, showed a woman with her head buried in her hands. The text read "You're Not Alone. Millions of People Love the Big Mac," and gave an 800 number to call. Some interpreted it as making fun of people suffering from depression.

"The ad writers and executives in McDonald’s high-priced marketing operation missed the boat badly on this one. I’m sorry, but the ad is just too close to the real thing to be funny," wrote Suffolk University Law professor David Yamada on his blog.

McDonald's Boston ad agency, Arnold Worldwide, said the ad was posted without the chain's approval.

"Arnold apologizes for its mistake to McDonald's and to anyone who was offended by the ad. McDonald’s did not approve the ad, and its release was our unintended error," said Arnold president Pam Hamlin.

"As soon as we learned about it, we asked that it be taken down immediately," McDonald's spokeswoman Nicole DiNoia said.

A day after Trevor Noah was declared the new host of "The Daily Show," complete with the blessing of the exiting Jon Stewart, graphic tweets targeting women, Jews and victims of the Ebola virus are causing a social media backlash.